Somewhat on topic for those reading this who haven't bought their pre-owned P-car yet... I posted this on RENNTECH as a reply to someone asking about extended warranty issues.

Consider purchasing a Porsche Certified Pre-owned car. I was all set to buy my car through a broker until I weighed the difference in price from the dealer. Last April, I paid $42.9K for my 99 C2 with 22K miles on it. The car came with a 2 year or 100K mile warranty.

Yes, I probably paid $4-5K more for the car than at auction, but a warranty would cost another $3,600. Also, I was able to review the complete service records from the dealer (lucky me, the previous owner took the car in religiously). My car had a complete service, new brakes and a brand new set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires when I picked it up. That's worth at least $2,500-$3000.

Did I have any warranty claims? You bet! I've had the cruise control module replaced, reverse switch replaced, power seat motor replaced, fuel filler door latch replaced, and the A/C system diagnosed for a leak (never found it) and topped off with freon. Total cost - $0

The only complaint I have about the Certified program is I get the feeling that the 100 point pre-inspection is total BS. You are on you are own to find faults with the car.

To their credit, the dealer has addressed every issue with a smile and apology, albeit I was without use of the car at least three days every time I took it in. You can bet they WILL get another crack at fixing that A/C leak before my warranty expires next spring...

Consider this a pubic service announcement, not an endorsement for Porsche Cerified Pre-Owned cars. I'm still a "Junior" member, so I cannot post replies or respond via PM. Hope this is useful to some of you.

 

Paul, thanks for the insightful read. There are definite advantages to opting for the certified route.

Also, I would recommend PMing the big kahuna, ShankGT2. I do not believe your inability to reply is linked to your "Junior" status. It's a technical problem that has plagued the forum for a couple months.

 

i would agree.

i found my car from a private seller, and through a friend at porsche, got the car inspected and sold to me as a certified vehicle. the process was exactly 4k.

but i do feel a lot better. the car passed the inspection which gives me some sense of security, whether it's BS or not. i still have one more year of original warranty, then i have 2 more years from ther certifed pre-owned.

i think i would be willilng to pay that 4k anytime just to have all the above mentioned. at least for now!!

 

How did you go about buying from a private party and then getting it certified? I know the certification costa about 2000 plus maybe 300-400 for the PPI, so did you just offer to pay them 2000 extra to get it certified or did they have to buy the catr and resell it to you? Good thinking on doing this

 

Dealer can buy and sell as certified the same way they get lease returns and sell the car as certified. They would transfer title from the seller to the buyer in one shot since the dealer isn't holding onto the title for long. $4k is pretty steep.

I believe the best deal is on private sell with original warranty. You get deep discount with a yr or more of warranty for peace of mind. However, on 99-01 that have no more warranty, certified is the way to go.

$42k for a 99 w 20k mi is not bad even today esp since it's a certified. I agree on the inspection. You're best bet if a 200+ pt inspection that takes apart interior, mechanicals to find problem instead of just visual inspections that a layman can do.

 

the dealer bought the car from the seller and sold it to me. yes, 4k was a lot. but get an extended warranty is at least 2k. i was also able to lease the car through porsche financing, which was not possible from a private seller.

 

I tried to buy an extended warranty from my Porsche dealer (I bought the car from a lincoln dealer) and he said "no". Wasn't even nice about it. I could go with an after market company, but don't know if I trust them to pay if there is a claim. Then I would have to sue them etc. A PITA.

 

If you use a Credit Union try them for the Extended. You can also get them from most of your auto insurance companies.

I got a 100K bumper to bumper $0 deductible from my CU for $950. That was on an Escalade. My S4 was ~$1800. This is the best way to go since the CU will back what they sell. My Allstate rep also has products that they will stand behind.